Building peace and citizenship through cultural and public diplomacy
Journal of Communication Management
ISSN: 1363-254X
Article publication date: 11 May 2023
Issue publication date: 18 May 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This article analyzes an approach to public diplomacy that involves leveraging local voices. It demonstrates the power of culture, particularly in collective settings such as festivals, to engage citizens in countering violent extremism, building peace and tolerance, and fighting corruption. Four case studies from Mali illustrate how integrating historical and living culture into peace-building strategies works effectively in this West African nation torn by jihadist and ethnic strife.
Design/methodology/approach
The author has used a field-based approach. The conclusions presented here are based on her own experiences in Mali, as well as hundreds of conversations with Malian colleagues and officials. The cultural diplomacy/soft power/hard power framework for the article is based on her own experiences as US Ambassador to the Netherlands, 1998–2001.
Findings
Culture, especially music, has unparalleled and untapped capacity to bring people together across differences in Mali, and to inspire them to envision a positive future for their country, and to work to achieve it. The lessons from the Mali case studies can be applied elsewhere.
Research limitations/implications
These Malian case studies demonstrate that culture belongs at the center and not the periphery of peace-building. They also show the efficacy of the “leverage local voices” approach to cultural diplomacy. The findings here are based on my experiences and those of others working in Mali.
Practical implications
Based on the findings from these Malian case studies, local cultural expression and actors should be integrated into efforts to build peace and counter violent extremism.
Social implications
These Malian case studies also demonstrate that shared cultural events help build social cohesion in societies frayed by conflict and/or violent extremism. In countries with high illiteracy rates like Mali, song lyrics help convey socio-political messages of peace, tolerance, and unity.
Originality/value
The “leverage local voices” approach to cultural diplomacy offers a different model than the traditional method of sending artists from the originating country (such as the USA) abroad. Local voices – whether living or from the past, as in the case of the Timbuktu manuscripts – have greater credibility and resonance than foreign ones. That culture works so effectively toward reconciliation, social cohesion and building peace in one of the most challenging environments in the world – Mali – suggests that other countries and regions should also explore and exploit the power of culture to dampen violence and orient the population to living together harmoniously.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author grateful to Nick Cull for inviting me to write this article, and for his help in the editing process.
Citation
Schneider, C.P. (2023), "Building peace and citizenship through cultural and public diplomacy", Journal of Communication Management, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 293-308. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-01-2023-0011
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited